Wright State to host regional spelling bee, winner to compete in Scripps National Spelling Bee competition

Wright State University will host nearly 60 students from across the Dayton area for a regional spelling bee that will send the winner to the national competition, the 2024 Scripps National Spelling Bee.

The Wright State University Regional Spelling Bee will include students in grades fourth through eighth. It will be hosted on Wright State’s Dayton Campus on March 6. The competition is organized by the College of Liberal Arts and the Office of the President.

Not since the 2019 Dayton-area Spelling Bee Collaborative has the Dayton region hosted an in-person competition. This is the first year Wright State University will host the regional bee event.

The competition encourages the exploration of words and lifelong curiosity, with a focus on helping students set goals and dedicate time to study and prepare. Participation in the bee program also provides an opportunity for students to gain experience in public speaking and poise under pressure.

“Wright State is thrilled to be hosting the Scripps Regional Spelling Bee and to support our region’s learners in their love of language and admirable depth of knowledge,” said Wright State University President Sue Edwards, Ph.D.

The winner of the Wright State Regional Spelling Bee will advance to compete in the 2024 Scripps National Spelling Bee this summer near Washington, D.C. The semifinals will take place on May 29 and the finals will be televised on ION on May 30.

The Scripps National Spelling Bee provides the list of words for the regional competition. The spelling bee reaches millions of students across the country and in other parts of the world with the classroom materials it provides to enrolled schools.

In addition to qualifying for the national competition, the winner of the Wright State Regional Spelling Bee will win the following:

• The Samuel Louis Sugarman Award, a 2024 United States Mint Proof Set provided by Jay Sugarman, chair and CEO of iStar Financial.
• Britannica Online Premium, a one-year subscription to the premier online resource from Encyclopedia Britannica.
• Merriam-Webster Unabridged Online, a one-year subscription to the official word source for the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
• Epic Family, a one-year subscription to the world’s largest digital library for children with access to more than 40,000 books, audiobooks and videos.
• Tynker, a one-year subscription to a leading K–12 creative coding platform plus eight live one-on-one online coding classes.

Launched in 1925, the Scripps National Spelling Bee is the nation’s largest and longest-running educational program. Visit spellingbee.com for more information about the Scripps National Spelling Bee, which is administered on a not-for-profit basis by The E.W. Scripps Company.